I made this thread some time ago and it's time for a sequel.

One of the things I like about VGC is that its user base is really diverse. Even though it's an English language forum, we have a lot of non-native speakers here. From my experience, only Gaf can rival VGC in that department, and even then I don't know that it's as diverse as VGC relative to the number of users.

So, please tell us about gaming in your country! Of course US, UK, etc still count.

As for me, I have lived in Spain, the UK and Japan, so here they are:

Spain:

I don't need to say much. One of the few places were PS3 outsold the Wii and 360 combined. The 360 found some success and was "only" outsold something like 3:1, but the Xbox One may as well not have released.

Gaming is not as big as in the UK because more young people spend time outside with friends, but what there is is very, very Sony focused. FIFA, PES, GTA, GT and CoD reign supreme, from my experience. Everyone has these. PS4 is now the fastest selling console in history despite the bad economy.

When it comes to home consoles, it's all about "la Play". Nintendo has traditionally been very succesful in the handheld department though, and pretty much everyone my age had a GameBoy.

UK:

Gaming is very big here. Most households have consoles. I mean, last gen 41m home and handheld consoles were sold, in a country of 60m. Very competitive prices, many mainland Europeans import gaming goods from the UK which helps maintain this competitveness, I think.

Xbox is strong here, surprising so coming from Spain, lol. But PS3 was very popular too. In my personal circle of friends, it was 50/50, but that's just anecdotal. Not sure if that's something particular of London or just a coincidence.

Again, GTA, FIFA and CoD are beasts. Handhelds were already pretty dead when I left three years ago, so I can imagine now that's even more cemented.

Japan:

Smartphone land :( I came on holiday 6 years ago and there were a shit ton of PSPs and DSs on the wild. Now, not so much. Even in the last couple of years I've seen the number of handhelds decline. 3DS is pretty popular, especially among kids. I think the adult demographic has dwindled. Youkai Watch is all the rage now.

In the home console department, I very often meet people who tell me they used to have a PS1 or PS2, but now don't play anymore. I don't think this is due to smartphones as much as it is about baby boomers who were asimilated by the brutal Japanese working environment and have no time to play. Also, many people say modern games are too "difficult", wtf. I guess they mean complex. Retro gaming is surprisingly popular, I so often get people that tell me they play games, only to say they're playing FF7 or GT4 for the upteenth time.

PS3 owners are quite knowledgeable about Western games, especially teens and people in their 20s. CoD, Battlefield and GTA being the main examples. 40 year-olds are likely not to even have heard the names though.

Since newer consoles are too expensive, people in Mexico tend to buy last generations systems, especially in the south of the country. I'd say that right now, Xbox 360 and PS3 are in their peak of popularity, with Call of Duty being extremely popular as well. Of course, some people can buy a PS4 an Xbox One or a Wii U, but from what I see, they're not so hot right now.

Another thing is that people love retro consoles. Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 2 are very popular even today. And despite the Xbox/PS domination, Smash Bros. and Pokémon are the franchises which most people play.

Oh, and of course, people are crazy for FIFA.

Venezuela, non-developed, 60 years in the past, piracy kingdom like almost all of south america, so everything that can be pirated sells, a lot, or well it DID - We (average citizen) are not in the position to dispose money at all right now, but in general serious gaming exists, mostly on PC due to the high price of (private companies) imports here, 1 ps4 game = 2 months of (minimum) wage, so Steam is king here in no man's land, there ARE PS/Xbox gamers but they are a minimal portion when compared to steam users from my personal experience, Handhelds do quite well and DS/PSP were seen quite often on the streets in their prime, now's a different time tho... those days are gone; A small nintendo community that still refuses to die (mostly 30 something year old who grew up with it) and mobile gaming is what you could call hmmm... just not that big.

Fixed.

The popularity of racers seem to have dwindled a bit lately, GT and "Nid for Spid" aren't what they used to be.

Here in 'Merica we have all types of gamers. Where I live Xbox is most popular, especially with teens and kids. FIFA, Madden, CoD and GTA are basically the only things played by most people. There are some people (like me!) who play on Playstation and are into the PS exclusives. A lot of people are still converting to the next gen consoles, but it's happening slowly. PC is popular among a small group of people. I will rarely hear someone talk about a nintendo console, but the handhelds are still pretty popular. Everyone and their dog plays games on mobile, Clash of Clans, Candy Crush etc. are all played.

I live in Australia, land of banning games or having them censored despite the new R18 rating -_-

Here in the Philippines, everyone PC gamer is good at MOBAs. Except me. I'm terrible at them. In consoles, few people are buying 8th gen consoles. The Wii is very popular, and the PS3 is beating the 360. Knock-offs are very popular sadly. In handhelds, I've only seen 2 people with a Vita, while I've seen 23 people with a 3DS. Smartphone gaming is mostly emulators or Gameloft games. That's about it, I think.

IRELAND

Xbox 360 was king of the 7th gen with a late resurgence of ps3. Wiis were littered evrywhere. Most people I know own 2 consoles. Current gen Wii U is rare but though of as cool. but ps4 and xbox one dominate with a 50:50 ratio. Probably the same sales per capita as the usa for 8th gen thus far.

Well I'm from Dominican Republic, but dont live there. I visit every two years.

Not every one can afford consoles
Sony is king
PS4 is around 1000 US dollars but can be found cheaper